Empowered!

So very sorry for my absence . . . not one who likes to complain . . . and creativity has taken a hit of late. BUT . . . today, I feel empowered!

As things of late have been . . . sucky to say the least . . . culminating in a dentist appointment today after a (hate to admit it) 8 year absence, I expected it to be another "sucky" day. I'm a dental-phobic. Yes, after a childhood of horrid dental experiences with the dentist from hell (I'm sure he's languishing there after dying from cancer years ago . . . karma's a bitch.) I was a nervous wreck!  It's like REALLY low on my priority list . . . but, I do have two cavities that needed attending to. Dreading this like the plague, it turned out to be not so bad. They were impressed with how clean my teeth were and what little work needs to be done . . . whew! I left there feeling . . . empowered! YES . . . I SURVIVED! ! !

So, I came home ready to tackle the world!

My mother has been the main focus lately as she's had some medical issues. She's 92 and living with dementia in an assisted living facility not far from me. She still knows me but her memory capacity is about 5 minutes long. She developed shingles a week ago on her forehead and I had to take her to the ER for confirmation and treatment. Two days later she had a relapse of cellulitis in her right leg and refused to stand/walk . . . back to the ER. This time, they admitted her. It was suggested, after 5 days that she go to a nursing home/rehab facility. They needed her new Medicare number to admit her . . . I've never received her new card. That began the saga of government bureaucracy. To make a long story short . . . a Power of Attorney means nothing to the government. After visits to Social Security and calls to SS and Medicare, I was able to create an account online and print out her new Medicare card . . . no way to change her address with them at this time. She is finally settled into the Nursing Home and not too interested in working on her physical therapy . . . this is not good. So that consumed my week. I will be going out of town tomorrow for the weekend but, come next week she WILL get a "kick in the pants" to get on with her therapy!

During this time dealing with my mother I got a letter from the Missouri Department of Revenue . . . a 10 day Demand Notice threatening to revoke my business license for their state . . . for a late fee ($18.70) for my Sales Tax submission for an event I vended at last September. I dealt with this "late fee"  in May and remitted the amount although the woman I talked to on the phone could not confirm what the late fee was for. The event was held in August of 2017 and then changed to September in 2018 . . . was it a late fee because the date changed or was a late fee because I was a day or two late mailing my payment because their website is a nightmare! Who knows. I called them and told them I sent the payment in May and the bank has cleared the check. He said they are behind in posting and suggested that I send the payment in again and when they get around to posting both payments I can ask for a refund . . . seriously??? I said NO and told him to go ahead and revoke the license and I'll just vend and not collect the sales tax this September . . . come to TN and arrest me! Sent them an email and have heard NOTHING!

Next irritant, we had our house painted in June . . . or that was the plan. The color we picked was not the shade the painter used . . . but, we liked it. He ran out of paint and went to get some more . . . hmmm, not the same color . . . don't like this shade as well. Rain delayed the painting and also the inspection of the painting.  Once the weather cleared and we were able to actually walk around the house, we saw that the paint color didn't match . . . multiple colors on several walls . . . we asked for Satin and it's clearly Flat paint. He swears he's going to make it right and yet has not shown up for two weeks. I bought a can of the paint this week that we chose and today I started painting the house myself! I also called the painter . . . got his answer machine . . . and left this message:  "We have started painting the house ourselves because it is obvious you're not interested in coming back. If you do not come and get your ladders, buckets and supplies, by next Friday, we will donate them to Habitat For Humanity . . . just to let you know" No call back . . . not a peep.

So . . . today . . . painted for two hours and then cut the grass! Great sense of accomplishment ! ! ! My framing is ready for a piece I designed for next year . . . will pick that up next week. Have a magazine deadline that's due by August that I haven't stared on yet . . . YIKES!

Meanwhile, the hubs is out of town having the time of his life at the Oshkosh Air Show . . . probably shouldn't post this . . .  he'll expect me take care of business like this all the time!

So . . . the message here is:  DON'T MESS WITH ME . . . I'M NOT IN THE MOOD . . . I SURVIVED THE LAST FEW WEEKS AND THE DENTIST TODAY . . . LOOK OUT WORLD!

Have yourself a Margarita (like I just did) and enjoy an evening of stitching . . . that's where I'm heading!

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